Thing we were happiest to learn: Fear not, pancake lovers, Canada has a strategic syrup reserve. Back in 1966, several of Quebec’s leading syrup producers decided to coordinate their marketing efforts, forming the Federation Of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ, which abbreviates the French translation). FPAQ controls 94% of Canada’s maple syrup (and therefore 77% of the world’s supply), and has been likened to a drug cartel. They maintain a permanent supply of liquid gold, the International Strategic Reserve, stored in warehouses across several Quebecois small towns. It was from one such warehouse that our thieves drained 9,571 barrels of syrup.
Here is what Lansing State Journal team members recommend for your reading pleasure this month, or anytime. Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in America by Maria Hinojosa As an immigrant from Mexico as a child to her adult life as a journalist in New York City, Maria Hinojosa tries to find her footing while being a voice for Latinas and Latinos on an individual level and nationally. This memoir educates readers in big and small ways, through powerful storytelling and the author s vulnerability. I’m a sucker for books written by or about journalists. –
Stephanie Angel, executive editor